Sewer Shark
Encyclopedia
Sewer Shark is a first-person rail shooter game, the first video game for a game console to use full-motion video for its primary gameplay. It was originally slated to be the flagship product in Hasbro
's NEMO video game system, which would use VHS
tapes as its medium. However, Hasbro cancelled the NEMO, and Digital Pictures
later picked up the game for the Sega CD system. Sewer Shark was one of the first games to come out for the Sega CD — shortly after its release in 1992, Sega began to include a copy of this game with each Sega CD unit, making it one of the most widespread and hailed as one of the greatest games for the system. It was later ported and released for the 3DO
in 1994. A port was also planned on the SNES-CD, another cancelled video game console.
). The player's co-pilot, Ghost (David Underwood), evaluates the player's performance throughout the game, while a small robot named Catfish (voiced by Robert Weaver
) scouts ahead and gives directions. The player is later assisted by Falco (Kari G. Peyton), a female jockey who believes that there is a hidden route to the surface. Falco is later captured by Stenchler, who threatens to turn her into one of his mindless minions. This plot is thwarted when Ghost and the player reach Solar City.
The objective of Sewer Shark is to travel all the way from the home base to Solar City without crashing or running out of energy, and while maintaining a satisfactory level of performance as judged by Ghost and Commissioner Stenchler. As in other rail shooters, the ship mostly flies itself, leaving the player to shoot ratigators (mutant crosses between rats and alligators), bats, giant scorpions and mechanical moles. Along the way, Catfish periodically gives the player a series of numerical coordinates corresponding to directions that the player must follow at a set of upcoming intersections. If the player takes a wrong turn or misses a turn, he or she may crash into a door, grate or wall, ending the game.
During the second half of the game, the player must follow an eagle-like "crazy lookin' thing" to reach Solar City.
The ship has a limited amount of energy, which depletes slowly during flight and while firing. (Scorpions also rob the ship of energy if the player fails to shoot them down.) This energy can be fully replenished at recharge stations found at key points through the sewers. In later areas, the ship will also encounter occasional pockets of hydrogen that the player must have Catfish detonate to pass through safely.
At certain times through the game, Ghost and/or Stenchler will interrupt the player to give direct feedback on his or her performance. If the player is doing well, he or she is allowed to continue and is occasionally given a promotion in the form of a new call sign. A poor performance will cause the game to end. As the player gains Ghost's trust, the extent of Stenchler's hostility toward the player increases until he actively tries to destroy the ship with a swarm of brain eating fireflies called "Zerks".
First Rank: RatBreath
Second Rank: Exterminator
Third Rank: BeachBum
through its use of full-motion video to convey the action. Like the actions in Dragon's Lair
, the turns are simply gates the player must pass through to continue playing, and thus the gameplay is almost entirely linear, as in a non-interactive movie. The video footage was directed by Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra
.
At the time of its production, game developers were just beginning to realize the potential of CD-ROM
technology to bring richer game experiences to the market. And while the Turbografx-16
was the first video game console
to include a CD-ROM drive, the Sega CD was the first console to bring CD-ROM games into the mainstream in the West. (the PC Engine Super CD being a good deal more popular in Japan)
While quite powerful for their time, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
console and the Sega CD add-on module were limited in their capabilities. Because the CD-ROM drive was only capable of streaming at single-speed (150 KB per second) and the Genesis could only display 64 colors simultaneously out of a palette of 512 colors total, a game that displayed full-motion video was a major challenge. Digital Pictures programmers wrote a custom video codec
that worked similarly to the later MPEG
standard. This codec was used to compress high-quality video at 60 frames per second into chunks of data that were small enough to support up to four simultaneous video streams while staying within the console's limitations. The video quality is very poor by today's standards, but at the time, this was a major technological breakthrough.
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
's NEMO video game system, which would use VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tapes as its medium. However, Hasbro cancelled the NEMO, and Digital Pictures
Digital Pictures
Digital Pictures was a worldwide American video game developer, founded in 1991 by Ken Melville and Tom Zito.On the Sega CD versions of certain games, if they are played on the systems "audio CD" mode, there is a short track of a phone ringing with a male voice answering "Good afternoon, Digital...
later picked up the game for the Sega CD system. Sewer Shark was one of the first games to come out for the Sega CD — shortly after its release in 1992, Sega began to include a copy of this game with each Sega CD unit, making it one of the most widespread and hailed as one of the greatest games for the system. It was later ported and released for the 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
in 1994. A port was also planned on the SNES-CD, another cancelled video game console.
Plot
Sewer Shark takes place sometime in the future, where environmental destruction has forced most of humanity to live underground. The player takes the role of a rookie pilot in a band of "sewer jockies", whose job is to exterminate dangerous mutated creatures to keep a vast network of sewers clean for the resort area "Solar City", an island paradise ruled by the evil Commissioner Stenchler (Robert CostanzoRobert Costanzo
Robert Jason Costanzo is an American actor. He has an acting career spanning over thirty years and is often found playing surly New York types such as crooks or low level workers and mixes both drama and comedy roles...
). The player's co-pilot, Ghost (David Underwood), evaluates the player's performance throughout the game, while a small robot named Catfish (voiced by Robert Weaver
Robert Weaver
Robert Weaver is the name of:*Robert Weaver , 20th century Canadian editor and broadcaster*Robert C. Weaver, 20th century American politician*Robert Weaver , American illustrator*Robert Weaver , American surfer...
) scouts ahead and gives directions. The player is later assisted by Falco (Kari G. Peyton), a female jockey who believes that there is a hidden route to the surface. Falco is later captured by Stenchler, who threatens to turn her into one of his mindless minions. This plot is thwarted when Ghost and the player reach Solar City.
Gameplay
During the second half of the game, the player must follow an eagle-like "crazy lookin' thing" to reach Solar City.
The ship has a limited amount of energy, which depletes slowly during flight and while firing. (Scorpions also rob the ship of energy if the player fails to shoot them down.) This energy can be fully replenished at recharge stations found at key points through the sewers. In later areas, the ship will also encounter occasional pockets of hydrogen that the player must have Catfish detonate to pass through safely.
At certain times through the game, Ghost and/or Stenchler will interrupt the player to give direct feedback on his or her performance. If the player is doing well, he or she is allowed to continue and is occasionally given a promotion in the form of a new call sign. A poor performance will cause the game to end. As the player gains Ghost's trust, the extent of Stenchler's hostility toward the player increases until he actively tries to destroy the ship with a swarm of brain eating fireflies called "Zerks".
Rankings
Starting Rank: DogMeatFirst Rank: RatBreath
Second Rank: Exterminator
Third Rank: BeachBum
Production
While properly classified as a rail shooter, Sewer Shark can also be considered an interactive movieInteractive movie
An interactive movie is a video game that features highly cinematic presentation and heavy use of scripting, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.-Philosophy:...
through its use of full-motion video to convey the action. Like the actions in Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair is a laserdisc video game published by Cinematronics in 1983. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth....
, the turns are simply gates the player must pass through to continue playing, and thus the gameplay is almost entirely linear, as in a non-interactive movie. The video footage was directed by Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra
John Dykstra
John Charles Dykstra, A.S.C. is an Academy Award-winning special effects supervisor and pioneer in the development of the use of computers in filmmaking.-Education and early career:...
.
At the time of its production, game developers were just beginning to realize the potential of CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
technology to bring richer game experiences to the market. And while the Turbografx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
was the first video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
to include a CD-ROM drive, the Sega CD was the first console to bring CD-ROM games into the mainstream in the West. (the PC Engine Super CD being a good deal more popular in Japan)
While quite powerful for their time, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
console and the Sega CD add-on module were limited in their capabilities. Because the CD-ROM drive was only capable of streaming at single-speed (150 KB per second) and the Genesis could only display 64 colors simultaneously out of a palette of 512 colors total, a game that displayed full-motion video was a major challenge. Digital Pictures programmers wrote a custom video codec
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
that worked similarly to the later MPEG
Moving Picture Experts Group
The Moving Picture Experts Group is a working group of experts that was formed by ISO and IEC to set standards for audio and video compression and transmission. It was established in 1988 by the initiative of Hiroshi Yasuda and Leonardo Chiariglione, who has been from the beginning the Chairman...
standard. This codec was used to compress high-quality video at 60 frames per second into chunks of data that were small enough to support up to four simultaneous video streams while staying within the console's limitations. The video quality is very poor by today's standards, but at the time, this was a major technological breakthrough.